International Retirement Migration

Spain has not only experienced a transition from being a country of emigration to one of immigration. Its gerontomigratory dimension has also been transformed. Spain is still, but not only a European place of retirement. The aim of this paper to provide a typology of the different kind of elderly and foreign residents residing in the country. Having knowledge of the quantitative and geographical evolution of this ongoing phenomenon will contribute to a better design of public policies, in particular social ones. / España no solo ha pasado de ser un país de emigración a serlo de inmigración. También se ha transformado su dimensión gerontomigratoria. En este artículo se concretan los perfiles de residentes mayores y extranjeros que ofrece el país en paralelo al de ser lugar europeo de retiro. Tener conocimiento de su existencia y ser conscientes de la evolución cuantitativa que han experimentado en el tiempo contribuye a una mejor previsión en el diseño de políticas públicas, de las sociales en particular.

MA thesis: Ajijic: American dream, just in Mexico

Maģistra darbā “Ahihika: amerikāņu sapnis, tikai Meksikā” aplūkota plaša
pensionētu ārzemnieku kolonija nelielā Meksikas vidienes pilsētā, par darba mērķi izvirzot Ahihikas kopienas divu galveno iedzīvotāju grupu, iebraucēju un meksikāņu, savstarpējo attiecību izpēti, piedāvājot to iespējamo sadzīvošanas modeli un tā sekas.
Pēdējo desmitgadu laikā vērojamais milzīgais ārzemnieku skaita pieaugums un importētais dzīvesstils, ko veicinājusi tā saucamo jauno imigrantu iebraukšana, ir izmainījuši gan Ahihikas vidi, gan attiecības ar vietējiem iedzīvotājiem. Pretēji tradicionālajiem imigrantiem, kas vēlas iedzīvoties Meksikā, patiesi izprast tās kultūru, tradīcijas, apgūst
spāņu valodu un labprāt iesaistās vietējās aktivitātēs, jaunie imigranti izvēlas dzīvot savā ASV kopijā, tikai Meksikā. Arvien vairāk manāms, ka abas iedzīvotāju grupas - ārzemnieki un meksikāņi - dzīvo nosacītā izolācijā viena no otras, saskarsmei notiekot lielākoties došanas-ņemšanas kontekstā, kad katram ir kas nepieciešams.
Darbā aicināts palūkoties uz šīm attiecībām caur reciprocitātes perspektīvu. Kā galvenie apmaiņas veidi apskatīti darbinieku un darbadevēju attiecības, privātuzņēmumu darbība, labdarības aktivitātes un Meksikas netieši sniegtais ārzemnieku kopienai - iemesli izvēlēties Ahihiku kā pensionēšanās galamērķi. Došanas-ņemšanas mehānismi Ahihikas
ikdienā ir gan veidojuši un saliedējuši kopienu, gan arī iespaido kopienā valdošo nevienlīdzību starp abām grupām un no tās izrietošos konfliktus.
Ārzemnieki, kontrolējot meksikāņiem nepieciešamos resursus, piemēram, darbu, vidi, valodu, no “viesiem” ir kļuvuši par “saimniekiem” un arvien skaļāk sāk izvirzīt savas prasības, piemēram, iesaistoties vietējās politikas aktivitātēs, pamatojot to ar savu sniegumu Ahihikai. Tai pat laikā publiskajā diskursā tiek uzsvērta vienlīdzība un tirgus attiecības.

The article explores the binary cultural codes by which Canadian and American retirement migrants make sense of their ageing process in Cuenca, Ecuador. The article is based on 83 semi-structured qualitative interviews (11 of which are follow-up interviews), most conducted in the first half of the 2010s. I explore how notions of finite time and imaginaries of a fourth age of decline and death inform the migration decisions and imaginaries of Canadian and American retirement migrants. I argue that their desire to seek self-expansive, new experiences through migration and contact with cultural difference dialogues with an increasingly competitive neoliberal culture of ageing, that emphasizes success through activity, youthfulness and consumption. While there are certainly other ideals that help inform North American migration to Ecuador, I argue that these particular ideals illustrate how discourses of "active ageing" have been taken up "from below," by ageing North American adults, many of whom identify with the aspirations of policy and corporate discourses of activity and success, but who find themselves ageing into material conditions that preclude them. Migration to a lower-cost country, like Ecuador, helps them to experience these aspirations more positively, but may have uneven effects on lower-income workers and their ability to remain in place in the communities marketed for this type of migration. Keywords: active ageing; successful ageing; international retirement migration; cultures of ageing Experiences of travel and migration in the third age speak powerfully to cultural ideals of ageing, which are shifting after a generation of neoliberal restructuring. While retirement migration has been noted for some time, and international destinations-especially in Europe-have received considerable academic attention, the growing movement of North American retirees to destinations in Central and South America is relatively new. In part, this is the result of declining retirement security and growing inequality within the United States and Canada-though no doubt, it is also furthered by real estate and marketing companies, who have sought out "new frontiers" of accumulation in lower-cost regions. It hints at a new type of international retirement migration, linked to an unequal global political economy-one that articulates new styles of ageing and new regimes of migration and transnational mobility. The focus of this article is on the cultural codes that international retirement migrants in Ecuador use to make sense of their ageing process.

In affluent societies, an active choice of lifestyle is increasingly becoming an option. With increased possibilities for mobility, opportunities to lead a good life can be accessed across global space. However, lifestyle management is largely directed and constrained by structural frameworks, and movers have to allocate resources and experience in order to manoeuvre structures and make optimal lifestyle choices. This paper explores how residential mobility may be used as a resource to gain access to opportunities. Based on thematic analysis of in-depth interviews, this is performed by exploring the experiences of Swedish lifestyle movers in Malta, in their tailoring of mobility practices that allow them to enjoy opportunities for the good life in both countries. The research questions that have guided this study are as follows: (a) What does the good life comprise? (b) How are structural frameworks surrounding opportunities for lifestyle management perceived by movers? and (c) In what ways do movers actively tailor their mobility practices to achieve the good life? The results show that movers are highly engaged in tailoring their access to opportunities through place fixity, such as permanent residency and social integration, and through routinised and timed mobility practices.

This exploratory study analyses user-generated web content in Singapore and Malaysia to examine how the management of Singapore’s rapidly aging population within the emerging cross-border metropolitan space of Singapore and the Southern Malaysian state of Johor is perceived and framed by different social actors. It reveals a range of perspectives on the growing numbers of Singapore seniors and their families beginning to consider Johor as a post-retirement alternative to an over-priced and overcrowded Singapore to satisfy their needs and desires for more affordable medical and residential care, larger homes and greater independence.

The current book is part of a framework for reflection on social changes derived from the migratory movements in Spain. It is not focussed on the whole picture of immigration collectives but rather, on those retirees that move from the centre and north of Europe. Particularly, with regards to the manifestation of this social phenomenon in the south of Alicante (Costa Blanca) by British citizens. Central to this analysis is the interaction between migration, health and ageing. From a wider anthropological approach and, at the same time, situational, we endeavour to demonstrate a more complex and comprehensive analysis of these movements, the migrants and the relationship with the destination society. At the same time, links of meaning and possible connections between explanatory frameworks are identified.
European citizens of diverse sociodemographic and motivational profiles locate themselves in particular enclaves in the sun once they retire. This flow has been part of the Spanish migration map for four decades. Its impact on the borough where it locates is significant but usually it is not regarded as “immigration”. The social image of Europeans, usually identified as tourists and agents of economic activity, has remained in a social and political limbo. This condition has facilitated evasion of typical media debates that the non- member immigration incites and also excludes it from the institutional concerns regarding distribution of resources.
The socio-health field is especially sensitive to this phenomenon, as it is where the main demands demonstrate cultural logics regarding how and where to age, the role of the family and the State responsibility towards the sphere of “care”. This health scenario and the European retirees own experiences will highlight the crossed categorization of these social phenomena, the selective application of the cultural concept, the identity process generated under the new global conditions of mobility, the new social and assistance maps, the cross-cultural polysemy of health and illness concepts, the social transformations in ageing experiences, and the differences in representation models and “care” practices.

International residential tourism is a recent phenomenon in the Andean area. However, in places where it has been established, rapid changes in social and economic structures have occurred. The Municipality of Cotacachi (Northern Ecuador) is paradigmatic. Having become a destination for American retirees, residential tourism has generated a sharp increase in the price of rural land and has decelerated a land market that once allowed young farmers to continue agricultural activities. Residential tourism has promoted land exchange value while sacrificing use value, threatening peasant reproduction mechanisms.

This paper looks at the concern North Americans express about the impact their relatively higher incomes are having on lower income workers in Cuenca, Ecuador. North Americans who retire to Cuenca often perceive their impact to be minimal or benign, yet a large amount of discussion within the community of “expat” migrants is about different ways North Americans are affecting the local economy, and how to minimise these impacts. Of particular concern is the racialised price system that migrants perceive to be in effect. North Americans racialise their economic impact, seeing “gringo pricing”, rather than their higher incomes, as a threat to the receiving community. Participants evoked moral codes to discuss price levels, and sought to diminish their impact – not merely out of concern for Ecuadorians who might be displaced by higher prices, but out of a sense of ruining the authenticity of Cuenca, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Amenity-oriented migration of mainly retired North Americans to destinations in Latin America is a relatively new but rapidly expanding mobility that, amongst others, induces an interesting array of political claims and practices. Unlike economic migrants, the predominantly wealthy and often economically successful amenity migrants possess resources to participate in local and regional development; additionally, they have the know-how to initiate and activate political networks. The paper discusses recent trends of lifestyle-oriented mobilities to Latin America and aims at developing a conceptual framework to analyse the role foreigners can play in the negotiation of strategies for local and regional development. Regime analysis, a particular way to conceive governance, is used as a tool to consider the possibilities and problems arising from lifestyle mobilities to Latin America, as specified through the empirical debate regarding planning conflicts in a recently established retirement destination in northern Costa Rica.

This article explores the lifestyle mobilities of British retirees in Thailand, drawing on empirical research conducted in 2012. Thailand is host to a significant number of British retirees motivated by a search for a better lifestyle in Asia. This pursuit of mobility for lifestyle reasons, rather than economic gain or work, implies a relative privilege involving a range of choices and opportunities. For many, the lifestyle achieved in Thailand is perceived as mediating negative effects of ageing and enhancing wellbeing. However, the material challenges of lifestyle mobility in Thailand, such as frozen pensions, healthcare costs and property insecurity, destabilise an initial optimism and lead to feelings of entrapment and immobility in relation to state policy and practice. The article argues for a relational framing of lifestyle mobility as a means of understanding and analysing the differential experience of privilege and precarity in semi- or postcolonial locations.

Note: A revised version of this paper has been published as Ormond, M. (2014) 'Resorting to Plan J: Popular perceptions of Singaporean retirement migration to Johor, Malaysia', Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 23(1), 1-26. Available HTTP: http://www.smc.org.ph/apmj/index.php?comp=com_issue_details&id=77

This exploratory study analyzes user-generated web content in Singapore and Malaysia to examine how the management of Singapore’s rapidly aging population within the emerging cross-border metropolitan space of Singapore and the Southern Malaysian state of Johor is perceived and framed by different social actors. It reveals a range of perspectives on the growing numbers of Singapore seniors and their families beginning to consider Johor as a post-retirement alternative to an over-priced and overcrowded Singapore to satisfy their needs and desires for more affordable medical and residential care, larger homes and greater independence.

In the Mediterranean region of Turkey, two populations of older migrants are increasing in number. The first group consists of northern European retire-ment migrants. The second group consists of former labour migrants who have returned “home” upon retirement. The two groups of older migrants are different in many ways. However, our study began with the assumption that they also share important similarities. The aim of our study was to gain insight into the residence and social security strategies of people who migrate later in life. Older migrants face specific risks and uncertainties related to their age. Their social security needs are clearly different from those of younger migrants. How does this influence their migratory decisions? How do they gain or retain access to various (public, family, private) resources and provisions in their “home” and their “host” state? How do they respond to, or make use of, the relevant legal framework (social security law, immigration law) in both states? What difference does their citizenship status make? The research for this study focused on older migrants who moved to Turkey after having spent (most of) their working lives in the Netherlands. The research population included Dutch retirement migrants as well as Turkish retirement returnees.

Bu makale köklü bir göç alan ülke olarak Almanya ile göç veren ülke Türkiye arasında gelişen göç kültürünün öneminin vurgulamaktadır. Bu çalışmada 1990 ve 2000 Türkiye Genel Nüfus sayımı mikro verileri esas alınarak Türkiye’de bulunan Almanya doğumlu, Almanya vatandaşı ve Almanya’da yaşamış nüfus grupları tespit edilmiş ve bu gruplar karşılaştırılmıştır. Çalışmada bu nüfus grupları temel demografik göstergeler üzerinden tarif edilmektedir. Bu kapsamda çeşitli nüfus sayımı değişkenleri kullanılarak 14 farklı analiz grubundan oluşan bir sınıflandırma önerilmiştir. Bu sınıflandırma Türkiye’nin göçmen alma örüntülerine örnek teşkil edebilecek niteliktedir. Aynı zamanda geri dönen göçmen gruplarının destinasyon tercihleri de dikkate alınmıştır. Türkiye’de bulunan Almanya’lı nüfusun göç kültürünün nasıl iki yönlü göç akınları yarattığına ve köken ülkeye doğru tersine akınlara yol açtığını gösteren önemli bir örnek olduğunu düşünüyoruz.



ENGLISH TITLE & ABSTRACT

Germans and ‘Almancı’ in Turkey

This paper notes the importance of developing culture of migration between Germany as the established destination country and Turkey as the country of origin historically. In this study we have used the 1990 and 2000 Census microdata sample. We have classifıed movers who have been somehow linked to Germany, either as citizens, or immigrants or returnees. Thus we have created 14 analytic groups using the variables in the census data. This classification can be an example for overall immigration patterns in Turkey. At the same time, detsination choices of return migrants have been taken into account. We argue that the emerging German immigrant population in Turkey is a case illustrating the ways in which a culture of migration can generate and maintain two way flows and in fact reversal of flows towards the original country of origin.

This paper explores reasons for choosing Malaysia as a retirement location.In-depth interviews were carried out with 30 international retirees.Pearce's concept of the Travel Career Ladder (TCL) guided the data analysis and results discussion.The dominant motivation themes clustered in the seeking of self-fulfilment needs.Issues as to overlaps between motives and stages in the TCL are discussed.‘Malaysia My Second Home’ is an international retirement migration programme aimed at attracting the lucrative retiree market to choose Malaysia as their residence. This study implemented the concept of the Travel Career Ladder (TCL) (Pearce, 1991), with a purposeful sample of 30 participants who had retired to Malaysia. Questioning was directed towards their motives for selecting Malaysia and the analysis indicated that the majority of the motivation themes clustered in the seeking of self-fulfilment needs. Among motivation themes discovered are meaningful second life, positive instant thoughts, central travel location, positive retirement book description, food variety, tranquillity and simple life, political stability and security, and ease of communication. The study also revealed a challenge in applying TCL to its findings as some motivational themes simultaneously represent various TCL hierarchies. The theoretical, marketing and managerial implications of the study are discussed.

This two-day conference therefore aims to bring together scholars from academic and research institutions from around the globe in order to critically examine and discuss existing and emerging national, sub-national, transnational and cross-sectoral strategies for the following:
• Promoting and dissuading ‘medical tourism’ and ‘transnational patient mobility’ in and between source and destination sites, in order to draw attention to the diversity of stakeholders, interests and scales involved;
• Evaluating and managing the range of real and expected impacts of (diverse stakeholders’ investments in) ‘medical tourism’ and ‘transnational patient mobility’ in and between source and destination sites, in order to move beyond an unproductive circulation of often poorly-grounded claims and counter-claims; and
• Identifying and assessing the real-life needs, desires, expectations and practices of a broader range of foreign healthcare-users and -consumers, in order to recognise not only the great diversity of mobile patients (e.g., geographical origins, socio-economic and political status, etc.) but also other resident ‘foreigners’ (e.g., expatriates, lifestyle migrants, foreign students, etc.) who make use of ‘medical tourism’ resources.

We invite scholars to submit papers that critically engage with the abovementioned issues. Papers focused on multi-scalar and cross-sectoral governance of ‘medical tourism’ and ‘transnational patient mobility’ initiatives, partnerships and networks as well as those examining how ‘medical tourism’ and ‘transnational patient mobility’ fit within broader development objectives (e.g., transition towards the creative economy, biotech development, regional and city place-branding, etc.) are especially welcome.

The Academic Conference (25-26 May 2016) will overlap with the International Medical Travel Journal’s (IMTJ) Medical Travel Summit (24-25 May 2016), which brings together governmental and industry representatives from around the world who are involved in the development of medical tourism. This will provide a unique opportunity for conference participants to attend parts of the IMTJ Summit and actively foster and engage in much-needed cross-sectoral knowledge exchange and dialogue.

To submit a paper proposal, please send an email with a 250-word abstract and a 100-word bio via http://summit.imtj.com/academic-application/ before 11 December 2015. Scholars and researchers in any stage of their career (e.g., PhD students, etc.) are encouraged to share their studies. Successful applicants will be contacted by 8 January 2016 and will be expected to register for the conference by 12 February 2016 to secure their place in the May 2016 conference programme. For further information about the call for papers, please contact a member of the Academic Advisory Board:

• John Connell (Univ. of Sydney, Australia) john.connell@sydney.edu.au
• Neil Lunt (Univ. of York, UK) neil.lunt@york.ac.uk
• Meghann Ormond (Wageningen Univ., The Netherlands) meghann.ormond@wur.nl

Since 1960 the flows of international residential tourism and intra-European retiree migrations towards the Mediterranean coasts have intensified. The geographical embodiment of this process has generated new dual structures. We analyse the situation of northern European communities that live in estates set apart from the traditional urban centres, with special attention to the province of Alicante.

This paper seeks to make a contribution to the empirical study of international retirement migration by exploring the meaning and the scope of residence, a phenomenon related to issues around integration and belonging. The study is based upon a national survey addressed to foreign European retirees (pensioners aged 50 years or over) of 16 nationalities living in Spain for more than three months per year. The article points out the extent to which residence is a multidimensional or complex and polysemic concept that transcends its merely administrative aspects. Residence is more than official records, and not all its dimensions develop with the same intensity. The research also reveals that certain public policies could promote both the presence and the consolidation as residents of European elderly movers.

This article examines the socio-cultural and economic changes caused by international retirement migrants and lifestyle migrants from the United States and Canada, who settle around or live seasonally in the lakeside village of Ajijic, Mexico. Twenty-one semi-structured interviews reveal perspectives on whether the effects of the migrants' presence are considered favorable or unfavorable to the traditional community. The sample consists of three groups: a) Mexicans (some of whom have roots dating back generations in Ajijic) who own or manage businesses, work or go to school; are stakeholders in their community; and have regular contact with immigrants; b) public servants (Mexican public sector employees); and c) experts. The study finds both positive and negative local perceptions about migrants from the "Global North," which tend to be favorable in terms of generating employment and contributing to the community; and unfavorable in terms of rising costs of living and some changes in local culture. It is suggested that measures should be taken to better take advantage of the presence of migrants who may introduce human and financial capital into the community.

This paper throws light on the efforts of South Asian diaspora in the US in building peace between their home countries. Diasporas have always been considered as actors having an influence on the politics and economy of the hostland. However, this image of diasporas is getting blurred and what comes out as a clear picture is of the diasporas, who along with influencing host politics, affect policies at home as well. Not only do they affect policies, they also play a crucial role in conflicts back home. Therefore, the objective is to analyse the initiatives taken by Indian and Pakistani diasporas in pro-moting peace and reducing hostility in the region. Specific aims of the paper are:
 To examine the effect of political lobbying of diasporas on Indo-Pak relations.
 To understand the role of diasporas in inter-state conflicts and its resolution.
 To analyse the work and activities of diasporic peace building organisations
In order to accomplish the objectives, South Asian diaspora organisations, their activi-ties and effects of political lobbying have been analysed through interactions with re-source persons, content analysis of electronic news, analysis of their websites, news bulletins and discussion forums. Following organisations have been studied : USINPAC, PakPAC, GOPIO, NFIA, ACHA, INSAF, Erasing Borders, SAPAC, 1947 partition archives etc
The paper suggests that South Asian diaspora in the US is continuously engaged in promoting peace between the two belligerents through peaceful walks, campaigns, news bulletins, conferences, talks, workshops, student exchanges, discussion forums etc, which has yielded some degree of success. But, the fact remains that the process has not made a substantial impact perhaps because it is still in its nascent stage and re-quire persistent and enduring efforts.
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Arsala Nizami is a Ph.D research scholar at the School of Interdisciplinary and Trans-disciplinary studies (SOITS), IGNOU, New Delhi. She completed M.A in Conflict Analy-sis and Peacebuilding from Jamia Millia Islamia and B.A(prog) from Lady Sri Ram Col-lege, DU. Her Ph.D work is on Indo- Pak conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Her in-terest areas cover peace and conflict studies, diaspora, South Asian conflicts, gender studies etc. She has presented many national and international seminars on the afore-mentioned themes.

Malaysia's second home retirement tourism programme attracted participants globally and reached its peak in 2013. The numbers started to dwindle in 2014, particularly among the once-top nationalities: the British, Japanese, and Iranians. The lack of data on the participants' motives and satisfaction levels in quantitative forms justifies the need for this study. This research examines the ‘Malaysia My Second Home’ (MM2H) participants' motivation, satisfaction, and the relationship between the two constructs. Of the 504 usable samples, we used 280 for scale development and 224 for the structural model assessment. The empirical analyses validated the conceptual model. The results revealed four ‘push’ and seven ‘pull’ motivation factors respectively. Push motivations (β = 0.568) displayed a stronger influence on the participants' overall satisfaction. The findings suggest the need for human centric marketing strategies and improvement in the central government management to enhance the attractiveness of the MM2H programme for international retirees.

The recent surge of research on international retirement migration (IRM) in Europe has examined interlocking topics of interest to several fields of social research. The researchers, drawn mainly from population and social geography, social gerontology and sociology, have focused on the geographical distribution of international retirement migrants, their motivations, social circumstances and integration with local populations, and the health and welfare outcomes. Recent contributions have, however, begun to explore other aspects of the IRM phenomenon, particularly processes of transnational identity formation, the mental construction of home, Heimat and community, and the meaning of supra-national (i.e. European Union) citizenship. This paper argues that IRM research offers many other possibilities for the interchange and fusion of social research concepts and methodologies. Several dimensions of IRM, such as the sustainability of transnational mobility and lifestyles and the elaboration of supra-national citizenship, are closely related to the current interests of transnationalism studies. Concepts and research questions from transnational studies could and should be added to research on IRM, while some interests of IRM studies, such as the distinctions made between a dwelling and a home and the mental construction of 'home away from home', engage with diaspora studies and offer a potential for productive comparative research. The transfer and exchange of concepts would sharpen and develop both research fields.

In-depth understanding of any critical social issue requires investigators to use analytical tools that reflect the complexity of the social issue of interest. Toward this aim, I examine the medical brain drain from Sub-Saharan Africa to the United States through the lens of the eco-psychopolitical validity model (see, Christen & Perkins, 2008; Prilleltensky, 2008), an integrative approach that stresses the combined influences of structural factors, individual agency, and power at play in human dynamics and social systems. By adapting the eco-psychopolitical validity model to the study of medical skilled migration, I construe migration as a liberating venture articulated around the triadic process of oppression, empowerment, and wellness. If migrants yearn to breathe free, then émigré physicians are essentially in pursuit of liberation and wellbeing. However, in a world of profound health disparities, where the increasing emigration of medical doctors from resource-constrained countries ultimately leads to loss of lives in the communities left behind, migrant doctors’ individual agency and the multilevel contexts that enable or constrain them to emigrate require critical reflection. Some emerging themes and variations of an ongoing qualitative study are examined using the eco-psychopolitical validity paradigm.

Ageing, European integration and human mobility beyond national frontiers are three intertwined processes shaping Spain as an international retirement place. Insofar as the quality of democracy has to do with citizens' political involvement, the aim of this paper is to analyse to what extent foreign EU retirees residing in Spain are using their right to vote in the local elections. Interestingly , the last local elections, held in 2015, were part of a substantial change of the Spanish party system throughout the Great Recession. However, gerontomigrants' mobilization has not been addressed up to this moment. This empirical study focuses on the characteristics and intensity in which foreign elderly citizens mobilized in the last Spanish local elections, with special attention to EU seniors. The previous elections, held in 2011, will be examined from a comparative perspective. Main data to be analysed will mostly be provided by the Spanish National Statistics Institute – both the electoral register and the population census. They will be complemented with the MIRES3i survey , which, in 2011, addressed 720 foreign European retirees (pensioners aged 50 years and over) of 16 nationalities (those of the EU-15 plus those coming from Norway and Switzerland) living in Spain.

International retirement migration has been typically regarded as a couple's project. Much less is known about single lifestyle migrants who settle and age abroad and those who, after the loss of their spouse, decide to stay put. Informed by a larger pool of 36 life-narrative interviews with later-life lifestyle migrants in the Azores, and structured around four selected portrayals, this paper seeks to explore meanings of place in later life and to unpack the complex set of negotiations that the ageing self undergoes in a context of migration. Drawing on relational and unbound understandings of place, I question traditional assumptions that see single older migrants abroad as vulnerable and dependent, emphasising a more complex set of needs, desires and expectations in (and for) later-life. For these migrants, emplaced living and ageing experiences are ambiguously mixed. The islands are described as places of freedom and self-actualisation, and also “safe ports” in later-life. Yet, this does not prevent intermittent feelings of isolation and loneliness, including the desire to restore some sense of companionship and romantic life.

I'll start with an article that the Wall Street Journal just came out with recently and that was the illusion of wealth and the illusion of poverty. What happened was there was a question about whether a million dollars was enough to retire around or would you rather have $5,000 of income per month. Now the illusion is that the million dollars is an illusion of wealth and the $5,000 a month is an illusion of poverty. What you really need to do when it comes to figuring out when you can afford to retire is actually combine those two things together and then you will no longer have an illusion.